Slovene History
Code and title of the research programme: P6-0235,
Slovene History Code and name of the research organisation: 0581,
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts Duration of the programme: January 2020 – December 2027
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Researchers in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, comprise the core of the research programme team Slovene History; other team members are external associates. A total of about 25 members including three young researchers. The programme is financed by the Slovenian Research Agency and operates under the auspices of the Scientific Research Institute of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. In the first period, it was led by academician full professor Rajko Bratož PhD, and from 2009 until 2022 it was led by full professor Božo Repe, PhD. From the beginning of 2023, it is led by Assoc. prof. Rok Stergar PhD.
The team conducts comprehensive research on Slovene history. Employing the comparative method whenever possible, the team seeks to examine all contributions to civilisation in the modern-day Slovene territory as well as in the broader regional and European context. With this in mind, the team successfully obtained additional research projects in Slovenia and abroad.
The team’s main research premise is to explore historiographical problems from fresh, more complex angles. The team also places great significance on the issue of public attitude towards history and the formation of historical consciousness; it has already prepared one panel on the topic and will continue to discuss it in future. Additionally, the team aims to publish syntheses of individual historical periods of the Slovenian past, some of which have already been and others are yet to be published. Prof. Peter Štih, PhD, has published such a synthesis, as have Prof. Rajko Bratož PhD and Prof. Vasko Simoniti PhD, both of whom are now retired.
By numerical indicators, the programme at hand comprises one of the most prominent and internationally significant Slovenian research teams in the realm of historiography and humanities in general. Two team members are full members of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences, while most members are involved with various international institutions and projects or are members of research projects at other institutions in Slovenia. Since the team is employed by the University, an important emphasis is placed on education in all three cycles of the study programmes, as well as on the development of study programmes. This enables a direct transfer of research results to pedagogical and public use. The development of young researchers is of utmost importance to the department, as is the collaboration with foreign students and researchers. Furthermore, the team has developed a diversified social network with universities and research institutions around the world.
In Slovenia, the programme plays an important role in the preservation of national identity and cultural heritage. Its members participate in various local projects, particularly those that aim to discover, preserve and develop its potential in the tourist sector based on remnants of the past. The contributions of the research team to the familiarity of the history as, apart from the language, the main component of the national identity, are on a par with the awareness of how important it is to remain connected to the international currents.
Therefore, the comparative perspective serves as one of its basic starting points, an objective and critical view of one’s history to overcome uncritical national self-sufficiency. At the same time, the team focuses on presenting Slovene history to the global public, comparing with kindred nations, and presenting relations with Slovene neighbours and major states. It also pays attention to the balanced number of publications in Slovene and other languages, as well as to the development of Slovene academic terminology.
In addition to publishing academic texts, team members are prominent authors of textbooks and teaching materials for various levels of education in Slovenia; they also contribute to the alternative textbooks in the Balkans. They prepare or participate in various exhibitions, documentaries, media events, and other public events. The research team is also highly aware of the importance of modern media; its members Assist. Peter Mikša, PhD, and Assist. Prof. Kornelija Ajlec, PhD, runs the most prominent Slovene history-related website, zgodovina.si. Moreover, members of the research team are relevant speakers in the media and are frequently invited to interpret historical events or periods for the public.
The following summary data testify to the group's quantitative and qualitative achievements: in the period between January 2015 and January 2021, the members of the program group published 27 scientific and 16 professional monographs; 129 original scientific articles, 19 review scientific articles, 5 short scientific papers; 98 expert and 33 popular articles: 27 scientific contributions at the conference; 105 abstracts of scientific papers at the conference; 3 expert contributions at the conference; 3 summaries of expert contributions at the conference; 149 independent scientific articles or chapters in a monographic publication; 28 independent expert compositions or chapters in a monographic publication; 4 textbooks and 11 other teaching materials; 304 various other contributions (compositions in the encyclopedia, reviews, exhibition catalogues, accompanying words, prefaces, discussions, polemics, commentaries, final reports on the results of research, bibliographies, additional texts, peer-reviewed works, essays, preliminary studies, studies, etc.). They gave 62 lectures at foreign universities and 311 contributions at unpublished conferences and 9 invited lectures at unpublished conferences. They prepared or participated in the preparation of 76 exhibitions and (either as permanent or occasional editors) carried out 138 editorial works. They had 70 interviews, took part in 68 radio or TV shows and were involved in 53 radio or TV events and in the preparation of several documentaries, two of which they also produced themselves (only scientifically categorized works are listed, otherwise according to Cobiss there are 66 other monographs and 263 other performed works, 72 other components of various texts and several translations).
The program group shows a high level of status and international excellence (scholarships, awards, recognitions, memberships in academies and international scientific organizations, etc.), the members are also evaluators of international scientific projects, editors and members of editorial boards of scientific journals, etc.